Malfoy's Secret Court
by YBNorml
Summary: Revamped version of 'Just a Ripple on the Surface'. Hopefully the archiving of this fic will be temporary, though it is possible that it won't be. Slash, slight incest, AU.
1. Chapter 1

Malfoy's Secret Court

Chapter 1

"Scourgify." The simple cleaning spell removed the blood from his blade instantly. Roberto adopted a grim smirk as he left the building. The small weight of the shrunken bags of Gringotts gold in his pocket filled him with a satisfaction he only received from a successful theft. Roberto Malfoy could see the morning's newspapers in his mind's eye. _First successful theft at Gringotts_. That was a good headline.

He apparated to a reasonable distance from town, and stuck his hands casually into his pockets. While he appeared to be someone out on an evening walk his fingers groped for something in his coat. Aha, there it was. Roberto pulled out a small cloth the size of an average handkerchief. Unfolding it, he slipped out the small pieces of metal into his other palm and threw the cloth on the ground. A few words of wand-less magic returned it to its original size. Now the length and width of a standard tent, he repeated the action on the petit tent poles.

In less then five minutes his tent had been set up. Roberto took a look around before casting some shield spells around his tent. A few more minor checks and he nodded to himself. That would do. He entered his tent and stood. Ah, the riches of a successful wizard thief were nice to have. He appreciated it now as he surveyed his apartment sized tent. He removed his shrunken pouches of gold and his trunk before returning them to their original size.

It was as he was letting loose his falcon Raistlin that he began wondering where it was that Toby had gotten off to. Roberto had let his thestral wander off for the night's job, but he should have met him at the prearranged spot already. He shook his head. He turned around and hefted one of the bags of gold over his shoulder so that he could place it in his trunk. Hearing Raistlin call him, Roberto turned once more. In the falcon's beak was the envelope he had been dreading all month. Damn Hogwarts.

He'd been getting the letter since he'd run away at the age of thirteen. How Hogwarts kept track of him at the pace with which he moved was astounding. Why did they keep sending him this letter? He was seventeen already, and there was nothing that Hogwarts could possibly teach him that he didn't already know. But it was this year that Roberto was worried about. He'd been receiving some rather impressive threats from the Dark lord. The batty ol' Headmaster at Hogwarts was the only one that Voldemort was afraid of right? So, technically, Roberto could lounge around the school, entirely safe, and not really have to put forth that much effort. If he went to school, he could live the easy life. The homework would pose no challenge.

Roberto snorted. As if. He couldn't believe he had actually considered enrolling. An indignant squawk was followed by the envelope hitting him in the back of the head. "God damn it Raistlin! What the hell was THAT for?"

The cheeky little falcon ignored him in favor of preening his already glossy feathers. Roberto frowned, but plucked the letter up from the floor and scanned the front of the envelope. What the hell, might as well look. He slid a gloved finger under the seal and tore the envelope open. Seconds later the rough parchment was in his hands, and his eyes were sweeping over the curled letters.

"Right." He snorted again. "Sounds like fun. Owl, rat, toad, or a cat? How bout a _falcon_?"

Raistlin glanced up from his preening and called to him. Roberto mindlessly fell back on the couch taking center stage of his living room. His hand found Raistlin and started stroking his feathers. The falcon gave a happy coo, leaning into the touch. Roberto sighed. Hoof beats from outside his tent alerted him that his happy-go-lucky death horse had arrived. A wave of his hand and the shield spells were temporarily disabled. Toby clomped inside, wings tucked against his sides. He shook his main and clambered over to his side of the room where he sank down onto a greatly enlarged doggy bed.

"Why were you late?"

Toby whinnied drowsily at him.

"Ha, likely excuse."

It was now, in his moment of peace that something unexpected happened. Before Roberto remembered to throw up the shield spells again, a gorgeous tawny owl swept into his tent. A letter clamped securely in its beak. He recognized the handwriting on the front and the seal as soon as he saw them. Roberto let out a long groan and swiped the letter from the owl. Raistlin cawed fiercely at the unwelcome visitor. Roberto didn't reprimand him either as he viciously tore open the letter and read it. Aw, his baby half brother cared about his existence. How sweet was that?

According to little Draco, Lucius was being a little hard on him. Draco hadn't given a damn about him since he had run away. Not to matter that technically Roberto wasn't a true Malfoy. In fact, he wasn't sure why he had kept the last name. In all frankness he was a Black through and through. Before his mother had gotten married to Lucius she had been raped during the war by a death eater. Narcissa having used a disguise spell the aroused man hadn't known that he had been raping his cousin.

Roberto hated remembering that fact, and it was still a raw cut now as he acknowledged the simple truth: he was a product of forced in-breeding. The child of Narcissa and Regulas Black, Roberto noticed at times that this hadn't weakened him like most muggles thought, but actually strengthened him as a wizard. With the blood of two pureblood related wizards flowing through his veins, his magic was stronger than most. There was a reason besides arrogance that wizards used to arrange cousin to cousin marriages long ago.

But technically, Draco was his brother, even if he was only half so. What most people refused to notice was that however snippy and foul Draco was on the surface, he was a strong person. The things that Draco dealt with at home were cruel and sickening. Roberto knew he shouldn't care. After all, Draco hadn't paid him any mind until daddy started getting a little rough.

Roberto threw the letter to the floor and screwed his eyes shut at the memories that flooded his mind. Images of Draco taking beatings for him the night that Roberto ran away, and inventing lies about his disappearance consumed his vision. Before he left, Roberto and Draco had been close. They had shared the burden of their father's brutal love.

_"Draco, if you hold down the fort here, I can get away and scrounge up some money. I'll come back for you and then we won't ever have to deal with him again!"_

_"You promise Robbie?"_

_"Yeah."_

But he hadn't gone back. He'd left Draco there to deal with it alone. Roberto groaned. He owed his brother; he _had_ to take him away from that place. Draco hadn't asked anything of him in four long years. Why not repay his debt now? Roberto flung a tired arm over his eyes, muttering a weary _accio quill_. He held out a hand to grasp his implement of destruction before reaching out to take the letter back into his hands. He hesitantly raised his hand over the turned over parchment.

_Meet me in the courtyard; I'll be there in two hours…_

**TBC…**


	2. Chapter 2

Malfoy's Secret Court

Chapter 2

Roberto cast another shield spell over his tent, this one making it invisible. He threw himself up onto Toby's back. Alright, which direction was the Malfoy manor again? HE searched his memories for the answer. Finally, after much thought, Toby and him lifted into the air and headed north. His estimate was correct, every once in a while he had checked the watch on his wrist. It had taken him around two hours.

He circled the area around Malfoy manor, searching the courtyard for any trace of Draco. There was no way he could see anything from this high up. Roberto growled as he descended a dozen feet or so. Aha, there he was. He shot through the air, moving towards the ground at frightening speeds. Roberto pulled up at just the right moment and Toby skid to a halt on the ground. He pulled back his black hood and turned to look at his brother.

Draco had grown some since they'd last seen each other, though that was to be expected. He was almost as tall as Roberto now, and his platinum blond hair still barely hung in front of his eyes. Grey eyes glinted as he stumbled towards his brother. Draco was dragging his trunk quite noisily towards him, and Roberto through a wand-less spell to shrink it in seconds. He summoned the trunk (now resembling a rather fancy matchbox) to his hand and shoved it into the pocket of his trench coat.

"Is there a problem?" Roberto asked. Draco began to shake his head, but he couldn't cover the wince as he tried to take a step. Roberto slid off of Toby and took Draco in his arms. He lifted the younger man onto the horse and climbed up behind him. He wrapped his arms tightly around Draco's waist and entangled his fingers in Toby's mane.

"Alright Toby, time to head home."

Toby's large skeletal wings beat furiously in the air as they rocketed into the sky. Roberto rested his chin on Draco's shoulder and asked, "Where did he hurt you, besides your leg?"

Draco didn't answer him right away. It was clear that he was still adjusting to the closeness, and tenderness of his older brother. Roberto's impatient growl alerted the younger man that he was still waiting for a response.

"My back, my stomach, and my, um, my…" Draco trailed off as a blush took his face and he closed his eyes. Roberto tensed. Draco need not say a word, Roberto already knew. His hold on his brother tightened, but he forced himself not to think about it. He was only picking up Draco so that he wouldn't have to feel guilty about what he did. That was it.

"I have plenty of healing potions for you once we get to my tent."

"Tent?" Draco asked incredulously.

"Yes, a tent. It's better to sleep in a tent and be constantly on the move when you're a thief."

"Ah, true."

The rest of the trip was spent in silence. The air was warm, reminding Roberto that he still had three weeks to decide if he was going to enroll at Hogwarts or not. Maybe he'd talk it over with Draco later.

After landing Roberto took off all of the shield charms and motioned for Toby and Draco to go before him. Draco gave him a strange look but entered the tent. Roberto followed, as he did so he returned all of the shield charms and enlarged Draco's trunk. Toby had already made himself comfortable in his bed across the room, and Draco was inspecting all of the other rooms.

"How long do you think we have until Lucius notices that you're not there?" Roberto asked as he heaved the trunk over next to his wardrobe.

"Probably a few days."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he only checks on my existence to beat me, which he only enjoys doing every three days or so. I have yet to figure out why." Draco reentered the room on that note. "You said you had some potions I could take, right?"

Roberto glanced up at his brother in wonder. How could he talk about it like that and laugh? "Oh yeah. Hold on a second, I think I have some stashed in the bathroom."

"Bathroom? How in the hell did you get a bathroom in here? Where does all the shit go? I mean, with you wandering around so much wouldn't it all end up in your pocket?"

Roberto whirled around to stare at his brother with an amused smirk flaunting his face. "Nope, I bewitched the toilet so that every time someone flushed it that whatever goes down the pipe ends up finding Voldemort where ever he is and falling on his head. Wicked, isn't it?"

Draco stared after him in pure bewilderment, "How did you manage that?"

"Shhh, that's a secret!" Roberto had reached the bathroom with Draco limping after him. The elder Malfoy was now digging around in a seemingly endless medicine cabinet. It was a few minutes of tinkering that led to Roberto pulling back with about four glass vials in his hands. He turned to face Draco and handed them all to him, telling which to take first. Draco did as instructed but Roberto didn't wait around to watch, he reentered the living room and collapsed onto the couch.

Draco followed him. When Roberto bothered to open one eye at his younger brother, he looked rather awkward, as though he wasn't sure what to do with himself. "Do you need to go school shopping sometime soon?"

"Um, yeah. Father was going to take me sometime next week."

"Ah, you know I've still been getting letters from Hogwarts. I was thinking of finally going this year, but I'm not really sure. I mean, I'm pretty sure that I've already learned all it is that they would plan on teaching me."

"You never know, maybe you'd learn something new. What else could you possibly be doing with your time anyways?" Draco asked, he took a seat in the large leather arm chair opposite the couch.

"I don't know; see if I could successfully steal from all of the Gringotts banks in the world. That might be fun."

"No way, no one can steal from Gringotts, it's impossible." Roberto smirked at that.

"Yeah, well I just did, tonight before I got your letter."

"One other thing…" Draco trailed off and stared at his feet. Roberto arched a single red eyebrow at his brother. "Yes?"

"What if Lucius comes for me?"

"Well, we'll just have to keep on the move then!" Roberto laughed, "That shouldn't be too hard. Besides, I can handle bad ol' Lucius any day. I'm way more powerful than him now."

"But Robbie, Father is a lot stronger than he used to be too! What if you can't win? What would happen to the _both_ of us then?"

Roberto tensed at the use of Draco's old pet name for him. An awkward silence filled the room and it was obvious that now Draco regretted his slip. "We'd get our asses kicked and we'd be back to square one."

There was a pause before Draco retorted, "Well _that's_ reassuring."

Sarcasm laced Draco's voice that Roberto did his best to ignore. "Whatever, are you going to sleep tonight or keep striking up conversations that don't end well?"

"I don't know. It depends on which bugs you more." Draco stood up and stretched, his words slightly slurred by an exaggerated yawn.

Roberto leaped up and wrapped his arms around Draco's waist while the younger man was stretching. Draco, being caught off guard, paused. "What are you do-"

Roberto captured his younger brother's lips with his. He deepened the kiss, only being able to do so because of Draco's shock. When he felt that Draco was thoroughly drowsy he pulled back.

Draco barely finished his original question, "-ing?"

The little dragon's eyes slid shut. Roberto smirked. Draco still fell for that trick; it worked every time when they were younger. He dragged him over to the couch and laid him down. Now, where did he keep his extra blankets again? Roberto went in search of them inside the linens closet. There they were, on the top shelf. He picked out a particularly think one and covered Draco up in it.

After that, Roberto left the living room and walked down the hallway that led to the bathroom and his bedroom. He slumped into his bedroom and shut the door behind him. Roberto barely made it to the bed and was even further surprised that he managed to get the blankets up and over him before he fell asleep.

The next morning, he was awoken at seven in the morning by a knock on his bedroom door. He drowsily opened his eyes and muttered, "What the fuck do you want this early in the morning?"

"Breakfast." The word was muted slightly by the door. Roberto rolled out of bed, literally, and stumbled over to the door. He was greeted by a brightly blushing face of his younger brother.

"By the way, I still haven't forgiven you for that!"

"For what?"

"You know what!" Draco hissed.

Roberto could see this becoming very amusing in the immediate future. He smirked, "No I don't, what are you talking about?"

"Yes you do!"

"Well maybe I do but the words are one the tip of my _tongue_." Roberto chose to lean forward and whisper this in Draco's ear, giving the soft lobe a sensual lick.

Draco shuddered, "Robbie, stop it!"

"Aw, but you're just so easy!"

"Shut up!"

Draco was about to storm off when he turned back, "What's for breakfast?"

"I'm not giving you breakfast until you say it."

"Robbie!"

"Dracey!" Roberto leaned up against the wall, his smirk still perfectly in place.

"Fine! I still haven't forgiven you for…"

"Yes?"

"-for k-kissing me!" Draco's face was as red as Roberto's hair.

Even though Roberto found Draco extremely annoying, he couldn't deny that the little dragon looked adorable when he blushed.

"There, now we can have some breakfast, and then we'll go get our school stuff."

"Wait, _our_ school stuff? You decided to go?" Draco looked greatly surprised by that.

"No shit Draco."

"You're a meany!"

"No shit Draco."

**TBC…**


	3. Chapter 3

Malfoy's Secret Court

Chapter 3

Roberto massaged his temples with a weary hand. The sigh that escaped him was that of a parent reigning in their overly chipper child. Ever since they had left the tent Draco had insisted that they stop by the quidditch store. Roberto, not wanting to upset the younger man, had obliged. But now he was regretting his decision.

"Robbie, can I have this too?"

"What?" Roberto turned; there Draco was standing with yet another nameless frivolous item. He guessed that Lucius, though he certainly had the money for it, had never spoiled Draco like this. That thought caused him to nod his head. Draco appeared as though he was experiencing a summer Christmas. He just wouldn't stop smiling.

"Draco?"

"Yeah?" The younger man called from the opposite end of the shop.

"I'm going to go and pick up your text books, meet me there when you're done. Oh, and miss?" The store clerk whirled around to face him.

"Anything that man over there brings up to the counter just put it on my tab. This should be more than enough for whatever he buys." Roberto plucked a five pound sack of galleons out of his pocket and set it on the counter in front of the astonished woman. Her eyes having grown to the size of dinner plates as she nodded, Roberto left the shop.

A certain Dark Lord was not happy, which in turn resulted in Severus Snape not being happy. So as Severus was purchasing a few books for some light reading he did so with a scowl on his face. Not as though he usually smiled, but he wasn't usually glaring at the world. At the present moment, he was. A criminal wizard who was neither on the side of light or dark had been playing a few pranks recently.

Roberto Malfoy had not only magicked his toilet pipe to empty over Voldemort's head every time it was flushed, but pranked many of the Dark Lord's top death eaters as well. It was no longer uncommon for death eaters to stalk into the meeting place with vivid pink hair or wearing dresses that they couldn't get to come off. Roberto was definitely on top of Voldemort's hit list. Apparently the Malfoy brat had proved to be an even greater annoyance than Potter, because the-boy-who-lived had not been mentioned for several meetings now.

Severus smirked, Roberto was doing the side of light a favor, whether or not he was intending to. With Voldemort so distracted he had not been bothering the rest of the wizarding world for some time now, and more or less completely shifted his focus off of Harry. The bell on the door to the shop rang and by instinct Severus glanced over his shoulder to see who it was. Ah, what a wonderful coincidence, here came the object of his thoughts now.

Roberto strode confidently in the book store with a look of utter frustration on his face. What was troubling the prankster now? Severus politely turned back to his shopping, but his mind was not at rest. He focused all of his magical power into sending out probes towards Roberto. His thoughts weaving through the air like spider webs until they found an aura that was uniquely Roberto. Once touching him they seeped through his barrier into his mind only to hit a brick wall. _You'll have to do better than that to read my mind. Who is this?_

_-Severus Snape.-_

_Grease ball standing in the Dark Arts section?_

_-I would prefer a different name but yes.-_

"Figured as much."

Severus whirled around to find Roberto standing directly in front of him with several books in hand. His hair was short and a vivid red. Windblown was an understatement for shaggy locks atop his head, and his bright green eyes didn't look perturbed so much as bored. He wore a long black dragon skin coat that was apparently of very high quality. But once your eyes got past the coat he obviously wasn't very well dressed. All that covered his chest from the biting cold was a sheer wife-beater. Some form of muggle pants with belts and chains clothed his lower half, and thick scuffed boots adorned his feet.

"Are you done appreciating my looks now? I have to buy these school books for Draco and myself."

"Since when did you decide to attend Hogwarts?"

"Um, since I decided that I was really bored, yeah, that was probably it." Roberto yawned and began approaching the check out counter.

"I haven't heard a teenager call an education a solution to boredom in my entire career as a professor." Severus remarked. He picked out the few books that he wanted and followed the criminal to the front of the store.

"You're a professor at Hogwarts I take it?"

"Yes, I am. I'm the head of Slytherin House, the house that your younger brother is in."

"Really?"

Roberto's interest was peaked now. How well did this professor know Draco? What was their relationship exactly? He'd have to ask Draco later. It was at that moment that the blond chose to enter the store.

"Thanks for all the stuff Robbie!"

"Hn." Roberto tossed a few galleons at the store clerk and picked up his books. He was almost out the door before a sudden greeting interrupted him, "Professor Snape!"

Roberto turned slightly to observe the interaction between the two. Draco leapt at his professor in an unavoidable glomp. Severus Snape seemed to expect the gesture as he returned the embrace momentarily.

"How have you been Draco?"

"Great! Robbie and I are here for our school supplies."

"Draco, we have a lot of shopping to do, so can you please hurry it up?" Roberto urged, he was just now realizing the consequences of letting Draco spend as much as he wanted at that quidditch shop. The younger Malfoy had dropped all of his shopping bags on Roberto so that he could properly tackle his favorite professor. Now thoroughly weighed down by shopping bags, Roberto was beginning to wonder if sending Draco back to Lucius's was worth the guilt. It was as he was pondering this that someone else entered the bookstore as well.

Two red headed young men with freckles to spare, glued at the hip, were conspiring loudly about something that sounded a lot like a prank. Hmm, that sounded entertaining. Roberto was about to drop his brother's bags and strike up a conversation with the would-be pranksters but Draco chose that moment to interrupt once again.

"Come on Robbie, we should be getting back to the tent so that we can start packing!"

"Draco, we aren't leaving for school for another few weeks, why should we start packing now?"

"I'll tell you on the way home."

"Hn." _Home_? It was home already? They had spent only a few days together and Draco had already latched onto him. Roberto mentally sighed; it had always been like this. They were closer than most brothers, and Draco had this tendency to cling to him. The petite blond had done it since they were both very small. Instead of making friends with the neighbors children Draco would stay inside and play games with Roberto. They went everywhere together and did everything together. They weren't brothers they were best friends. That was, until Roberto left and never came back. The night that Roberto had broken his promise he had destroyed their relationship. It could never go back to the way it had once been.

But Draco had discovered the line between a makeshift brotherhood and old friendship. For some reason he had decided to flirt with it. Roberto was not pleased about this. Draco's actions were bringing up old memories, fond memories of their relationship. He preferred those memories to stay firmly rooted in the part of his brain labeled 'shit-from-old-life-that-I-don't-want-to-like-anymore'.

Toby was waiting for them in the courtyard of the leaky cauldron. As he waited for Draco to climb on in front of him Roberto was shrinking all of their purchases to fit in his pocket. The feeling of a warm body pressed up against his front reminded Roberto of where he was. He wrapped his arms around Draco's waist and tangled his fingers in Toby's mane.

"Alright Toby, time to head home."

There was a five minute interval between taking off and when Roberto nudged Draco for a response to his earlier question. "So why are we packing once we get to the tent?"

"I asked Professor Snape if we could come and stay at the castle before beginning of term because of our situation. He said that it would be fine. I don't know about you, but I would prefer to stay in the castle then in that tent all the time. You wouldn't have to worry about security either, I might add." While he was explaining Draco leant back against Roberto.

"Ah, I guess that'll be okay. I've been receiving some pretty nasty threats from Voldemort lately."

"The Dark Lord has been sending you threats?" Draco screeched.

"Yeah, your head master scares the shit out of Voldemort, right?"

"Well, supposedly yes. Professor Dumbledore is the only one that the Dark Lord has ever feared. Why?"

"Good. Hiding out at your school is the best thing for me right now. I could probably hold my own against about four death eaters at once, but a swarm of them _and_ their leader…that I can't do. So how many years are there again?"

"Seven."

"Huh, do you think that the Dark Lord will leave me alone if I hide out for seven years? Isn't that Harry something-or-other kid going to kill him sometime soon? If I wait this out then boy wonder can nuke 'im and I'll be homefree!"

"Robbie!"

"What?"

"Why is Voldemort angry at you?"

"Well besides the fact that our toilet's pipe empties out on top of his head? Um, I've been pranking his death eaters in rather…demoralizing and utterly mortifying ways over the past few months. He isn't very happy with me right now."

"_Robbie_…" Draco sighed. Roberto laughed softly, his head once again resting on Draco's shoulder. They shifted into a comfortable silence as they made their way back to the tent. If Draco was going to flirt with the edge, Roberto was going to flirt back and _win_. There was no way that Draco was going to do this to him; he would make sure of it.

**TBC…**


End file.
